Borders eco brick project lays foundations for greener future
Video report by Jennifer Cordingley.
A project in the Scottish Borders is hoping to lay the foundations for a greener future.
A team based in Jedburgh is creating bricks from recycled plastic - like wheelie bins and butter tubs - to stop it ending up in landfill.
Pegtog bricks, which come with locking components, have been compared to giant Lego blocks. The three men behind the project are Andrew Napier, Charlie Richardson and Larry Smith.
As well as eco-friendly, the blocks are versatile and can be used to build outdoor storage sheds, planters and horse jumps
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Larry told ITV Border: "What people don't realise is, no matter what you try and recycle, it costs three times as much than it did to make because you need big, powerful machines to tear it all to bits then shred it then re-melt it again so it isn't as green as people think it is. But if you get it right it is."
Andrew Napier said: "We hope for leisure to begin with, landscaping projects, seating and benches for public spaces. They're so robust and they don't need any maintenance what-so-ever."
The bricks can't yet be used inside homes but the trio have big plans for their future, working to establish the company as an environmental champion.
The gang here in Jedburgh hope their ideas will lay the foundations for the future of the eco-building industry, brick by brick.